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OPINION
Odd Down Cat 4s: a doomed bid for glory
Sat, Jan 31, 2015 22:32
11
That'll buff outOne second you’re off the front with a slender gap with a Cat 3 racing licence in your sights, the next you’re looking up at the sky with holes in your clothes and skin. That’s bike racing I suppose. It was all going so well.
Saturday, and Odd Down, and I had a plan. The plan was to stick in until the last lap and then give it death down the back straight and hope I could gap the field and stay out until the end. Or if not stay out, give myself a shot at some decent points. And on a windy, messy day in the Cat 4s I managed to stay out of trouble and put myself right where I wanted to be, and then there was a gap and I went for it, just like I’d imagined.
And then I was slowing to a halt at about the rate you’d expect given the coefficient of friction between skin and damp tarmac. The bottom hairpin. There’s always one going down there. I tut at those guys as I glide past. And now I’m one of them.
I didn’t ground a pedal, the bike just went from under me. Odd Down is a grippy surface and I’ve never felt like I was exploring the limits of traction there before, so I’m not really sure what went wrong. It was an unfamiliar bike and maybe there was still a bit of mud on the edges of the tyres from riding across the temporary path to the circuit: who knows. Anyway, over I went and I was on my own, so it’s all on me. Probably someone else’s race plan got ruined when mine went awry. Sorry about that.
Astonishingly I managed to put a hole in every single piece of clothing I was wearing. Club jersey, base layer, bib tights, gloves… even my socks didn’t survive. The bike was okay, my leg did most of the interacting with the tarmac. And my arm. And shoulder. And ankle. I’m in decent shape though, considering. And thanks to my recent back problems I have lots of really good painkillers.
There’s plenty of positives to take from the race. My general positioning in the race was pretty good, I chased down a dangerous-looking break of four at the front of the pack without burning myself out. And hey: I was off the front with a bit of a lead with 500m to go. Would I have stayed out? Probably not. But I’d have likely been in the points and that would have been a first for Odd Down. So next time I can at least be confident that I can mix it in the 4s up there. Although next time, I might save it for the sprint.
I spent this evening replacing the ruined sleeve of my club jersey with a most of the back of my ruined base layer whilst watching a crap movie, so at least I don’t have to fork out fifty quid for a new one, yet. And tomorrow I’m going out in the Bath CC points leader’s jersey. While I still have it.
Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.
More Opinion
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Interesting theory - how many points does it take for them to drive carefully?
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At the end of the consultation in May 2025, a decision will be taken.........
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The absurdity of it deepens when you realise that those points were acquired by the age of 26.
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BAM!
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Stuff like this seems more relevant than ever after the Trump victory. sorry not a funny
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11 comments
Bummer. "I get knocked down, and I get up again ... " ... or something like that: Chumbawumba lyrics. Go listen. It'll make you feel better - but in the meantime, gets some rest, tend those wounds and get back out on the bike as soon as possible - and stick with Dave's plans! You're going great guns!
Good effort, and well done on the (nearly!) successful attack. This series of blogs are making me think seriously about giving racing a go. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing
It is brutal, but it makes you realise how racing should be done and is totally different to the UK where people often race negatively; that 'chase down every attack, but never try yourself' kind of thing. It's consistently faster, and finishing a race is an achievement in itself. You also end up racing against skinny kids in football socks riding a 20 year old bike, or fat old fellas wearing silver skin suits and they are fast as a very fast thing.
Get over there, get hammered, come back with fresh eyes and a whole new approach to go with your new approach!
Beer is better too...
Belgium is brutal... but brilliant. And cheap, unbelievably cheap.
I was thinking I fancied a trip to Belgium Crikey, but then everyone said it was brutal. I perhaps need to see how I go this year in 3rd cat. How deep I can dig.
Enjoying the blog. Good to read that others are having a crack too. I got my 3rd cat last season with two good results, but didn't have the nerve to go on an attack.
The best advice I can give is that when you feel more or less comfortable with racing at 3rd and 4th cat level in the UK, take a mid-week trip to Belgium, pick up a local paper, work out where the races are then go and do one.
I was stunned by the speed, the tactics, and the organisation of little local races there. It certainly improved my UK racing at a stroke.
unlucky! Great blog as ever. Keep up the good work, both on and off the bike.
So you've gone from being dropped, to hanging on, to getting points and now you've got a goddamn plan, no less.
Way to go.
I'm really enjoying this blog series!
Unlucky this time Dave, but glad to see you've had a breakthrough the last few weeks. Keep it going, it's very inspiring!
Dave that was a cracking effort at the final lap! It was a shame you went down ,because you definitely worked for those points yesterday. However as you said it's bike racing and fingers crossed you learnt what works for you.
As a heads up, I might adopt that attack out of the top bend down the back straight next time it was a good move. I had a moment where I thought to myself "why didn't I think of that?"
Heal up soon, see you at the races!
Friend of Das Rad Klub and BSCC,
James
Good effort Dave! Unlucky dude!